Scrapyard
The Scrapyard, known in Japan as , home to the rubbish and refuse, both human and non, of Tiphares. The Scrapyard is a large metropolis located beneath Tiphares whose sole function is to gather and process resources for the use of Tiphares. Managed by the Factory, it is the primary setting for the first half of Battle Angel Alita and most of the characters who appear during this part of the manga series come from the Scrapyard. Previously it was known as Star City. Their citizens are mainly cyborgs. Geography The Scrapyard is centered around the vast dump heap below Tiphares, at the center of which is a giant pile of refuse known as Mount Tiphares. It's difficult to get used to that cold, adding Tiphares cooling effect to the winter. The city can be accessed by 11 Station Gates, each under the control of its respective Factory. Surrounding the Scrapyard are 29 Factory Farms and an unspecified number of mining facilities, which supply food, supplies, and raw materials to the Scrapyard. These are linked to the Scrapyard by the Factory Railroad and can also be accessed via motor transport. , volume 1.]] The Scrapyard is surrounded by the Hydro-Wall, which forms a circle around the city. Within this circle the Scrapyard is equally divided into four areas, each corresponding to one of the four cardinal directions. There are plenty giant boilers. The naming of these areas has varied, from regions, to sectors, and to districts.Phase 12 - Koyomi's first appearance in ''Last Order. In a clockwise direction, these areas are: *'Northern District': Desty Nova's manor was located here. Near it there are merchant caravans. *'Eastern District': Daisuke Ido's clinic was located here on Temple Street close to Factory 33. The Coliseum is the most popular sport here. Ammonia Avenue, the site of Alita's confrontation with Zapan over Hugo, is either close to or in this district. *'Southern District': This district only has two factories, Factory 11 and Factory 1111. This means that the factory that was destroyed as a result of Zekka and Tunpò's fight in the Second Zenith of Things Tournament in ES 501 was Factory 1212. Wabi-Sabi Antiques, where Koyomi and her father are boarding, is in this district. In this area there is Screwhead Times newsroom. *'Western District': Alita fled here following Hugo's death and a month later began her meteoric career in the most popular sport in the district, motorball. She relocated following her defeat of Jashugan. The Sonic Finger committed most of his murders in this district before going to the Eastern District to target Alita. History The Scrapyard began as Star City, the site of a rebuilt city following the end of the impact winter in ES 126. It was previously connected to Tiphares via a section of the orbital elevator. Originally the elevator was severed by Melchizedek during the Terraforming Wars.Final Fight - Melchizedek relates the history of Tiphares. However this was later changed in Last Order, in which it is suggested that the orbital elevator was damaged as a result of the Terraforming Wars and was never repaired.Phase 38 - Yoko is sentenced to atmospheric immolation. Plot At the beginning of Last Order, the chaos the Scrapyard was thrown into following Den's attack was exacerbated when Tiphares itself was thrown into a state of civil war following Desty Nova's public revelation of the brain bio-chips. This shut down the Factories, the lynchpin of the Scrapyard economy. Vector emerged as the most powerful person in the Scrapyard, and with Kaos' help, was able to maintain a semblance of order for several months. On the eve of the Tenth Zenith of Things Tournament Finals however, increasing crime and this degree of control are on the point of collapse. After Kaos established contact with Tiphares and he and Vector learned about the ZOTT, they attempted to inform the residents about the Finals via the public broadcast system, but this was largely unsuccessful. Vector took the step of writing up a declaration of independence that he had Koyomi run down to the morning newspaper to get printed. Government For centuries the Scrapyard was run by an automated system known as the Factory, which affected all aspects of life in the city. The system was controlled from Tiphares and ensured that the aerial city's interests always superseded those of the people living on the surface. For its daily functions the Factory used cyborgs known as deckmen, which interacted with the public and fulfilled a variety of roles. Another type of cyborg, the netmen, functioned in a strictly security capacity. Demographics A diverse population of unspecified size lives in the Scrapyard, many of whom have enhanced themselves cybernetically. Figure Four wandered the Scrapyard for a year, but did not find it to his liking, and Yolg agreed that the preponderance of cyborgs did not make it a welcome place for flesh and blood humans.Battle 31 Nonetheless there is still a sizable flesh and blood population in the city. At one point Daisuke Ido mentions that the rising population is one of the factors behind the Factory's support of motorball.Battle 20 A variety of languages are shown to be spoken in the Scrapyard, including ,Battle 10 - The newspaper that Vector is reading is in Hebrew. , and . Tiphareans have no problems communicating in the Scrapyard, indicating that the same language spoken there is also spoken in the Scrapyard. Culture The two most popular sports in the Scrapyard are the Coliseum, which is located in the Eastern District, and motorball, which is found in the Western District. This makes gambling a key financial activity. The Scrapyard is also shown to tolerate the sex industry, which is manifested in the forms of prostitution and pornography. Economy The Scrapyard appears to operate on a cash economy, using chips as currency. It is not specified if banking or a credit system exists. Public security Factory Law was a codification of the degree of crimes in the Scrapyard which ranged in degree of severity from Class A to Class B, with Class A crimes being the most severe. This provided a small degree of protection for residents, but placed the interests of the Factory above all else. Because a police force no longer existed, a legalized system involving bounty hunters, known as hunter-warriors, was created. The hunters were free to pursue criminals who had been added to the bounty list as long as they operated within the boundaries of Factory Law. However despite the harsh imposition of Factory Law, the presence of netmen, and the hunter-warrior system, the Scrapyard remains a haven for criminals.Tears of an Angel - Netmen and the Public Security System Netmen do not pursue crimes below Class A offenses, and the hunter-warriors are selective of which bounties they pursued. This resulted in notorious bounties such as Makaku running free for years because the hunter-warriors were too afraid to go after him. Crimes in which the perpetrator is unknown as well as lesser categories of crimes go unpunished. However, the Scrapyard overall functions fairly well and most of the population appears to be law-abiding. The Factory Army served as a means of protection against external as well as severe internal threats. Composed of mecha operated by the deckmen, the netmen, and civilian mercenaries, it was deployed first against Zapan after he gained control of the Berserker Body and later against the Barjack. References Category:Scrapyard